Najeeb pleads not guilty to graft charges

Former Malaysian prime minister’s spokesman says charges are politically motivated

Malaysia’s former prime minister, Najeeb Razzak, yesterday pleaded not guilty to abuse of power and other charges arising from an investigation into a scandalplagued state fund, weeks after he was ousted in a stunning election defeat.

Najeeb, 64, who has denied wrongdoing in relation to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) fund he founded, was charged with abuse of power and three counts of criminal breach of trust as part of an investigation into a transaction involving its former unit SRC International.

The charges relate to some 42 million ringgit ($10.4 million) of funds that allegedly went from SRC into Najeeb’s personal bank account. This represents a small fraction of the billions of dollars the US Department of Justice has said was misappropriated from 1MDB.

Malaysia’s attorney-general said he expected more reports from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigating wrongdoing at the fund. “This is arising from the first MACC IP (investigation papers) given to my office three weeks ago. No doubt there will be more,” Tommy Thomas, who is leading the case against Najeeb, told reporters.

In a pre-recorded message posted on Twitter after his arrest, Najeeb said he was not perfect and “not all the accusations against me and my family are true. “Let investigations be carried out. I have not had a chance to defend myself,” he said.

Each of the four charges against Najeeb carries a prison term of up to 20 years. The abuse of power charge carries a fine of not less than five times the “value of gratification”.

Najeeb was granted bail of 1 million ringgit ($247,000) and was ordered to surrender his passports.

The son of a former prime minister, Najeeb joined parliament at the age of 23 and rose through the ranks to take the top job in 2009. But his second term in office from 2013 was plagued by allegations around 1MDB, prompting a stunning fall from grace that culminated in his arrest on Tuesday.

A spokesman for Najeeb said on Tuesday that the SRC charges and the 1MDB investigations were “politically motivated”.